David Gilmour
Madison Square Garden
April 11th

I love me some Floyd man, but I never saw them in concert as ‘Pink Floyd’… and I never will (doesn’t help that most of the band are dead and the ones that are alive basically hate each other).  I was always on team Roger Waters, and was blessed to have seen him 4 times in the past decade – twice for his Dark Side of The Moon tour and twice for his The Wall rebuilding.  Somehow I didn’t give David Gilmour the Gilmour guy love that I should have given him – I mean, this is THE fcuking guitarist for Pink Floyd!!!

The last time Gilmy was in the states was briefly in 2006, and before that even more breiflyerer in 1988, so I didn’t have many chances to jump at something I wasn’t exactly jumping for.  But ever since I saw Waters, I was like man, I really should see Gilmour, before he or I die, and boom – Gilmour came to the states to support a (decent) new album, stopping by 4 cities only in North America, and boom – here we are

And so?  Dude, David Gilmour is THE fcuking guitarist for Pink Floyd – perhaps the most guitaristishy band the world has ever known.  And dude, David Gilmour can SHRED that fcuking guitar, man – creating soundscapes that CANNOT be escaped from.  I mean, dude, why weren’t you there?  I WISH YOU WERE THERE!!!! with me!!!!

https://www.instagram.com/p/BEFJrhXm3wt/

Gilmy played new songs, he played Floyd songs, he played BS Floyd songs from the time where Pink Floyd was basically juss him, but whatever he played, it blew my ears, and my penis, and my mind, and your mind, even though you weren’t there.  Man, I truly wish you were there

If you weren’t there, I bet you wish you were there, and I wish I could say that there’ll be many more times he’ll come back and be here, but I think that’s juss well wishing, for wishes that may never come true again.  Oh well

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Set 1 - 5 A.M. / Rattle That Lock / Faces of Stone / Wish You Were Here / What Do You Want From Me / A Boat Lies Waiting / The Blue / Money / Us and Them / In Any Tongue / High Hopes

Set 2 - Astronomy Domine / Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts I-V) / Fat Old Sun / Coming Back to Life / The Girl in the Yellow Dress / Today / Sorrow / Run Like Hell

Encore - Time / Breathe (Reprise) / Comfortably Numb

31st Annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony
Barclays Center
April 8th

Say what you will about the actual Hall of Fame for Rock and Roll, and how they go about figuring out who gets in and who doesn’t, but the show they put on to induct whoever gets in is simply amazing – cause these moments only happen once – and sometimes people come together that haven’t been in awhile, and then never will again  

I know how special these induction shows can be and how knees bees they is cause 2 years ago I had my shiz flipped watching Cat Stevens playing in America for the first time in ages AND Nirvana be Nirvana without Kurt, but with some awesome ladies doing their best to be Kurt + a bunch of other awesome shiz (outside of the E Street Band being inducted and giving 31281238238 hours of speeches – F them!) at the 29th induction ceremony

This year’s inductees weren’t AS monumental, both to me personally and for music in general, but the show went on, and the show was AWESOME!!

it opened with David Byrne and Kimbra and The Roots paying tribute to David Bowie with ‘Fame’!!!

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Deep Purple

I had no idea who was in Deep Purple or whether they were still alive or not.  Well, they are alive!! And David Corverdale was in Deep Purple at some point (and now actually looks like a white snake)!  And Lars Ulrich loves them!!!!  And they were great! Although they didn’t play ‘Child In Time‘, which is one of my mos flavorite longest songs of balls thyme, but I guess there wasn’t time for 10+ minutes songs, but the ones they played were juss perfect

Highway Star / Hush / Smoke on the Water

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Steve Miller

I think we take Steve Miller for granted and granite.  Maybe cause his name is so basic and so American, or that his music has become so commonplace and so 70s American.  But you know what – we took a listen to Steve Miller’s greatest hits last week and we realized how foolish we’d been for not listening to him in ages.  His music is CLASSIC rock that truly rocks, and Steve’s still got it at age 72.  Hearing 3 of his songs was not nearly enuff to quench my need for Miller time.  I’ll have to go see a full on Steve Miller show.  HAVE to!

Fly Like An Eagle / Rock’n Me / The Joker

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N.W.A.

Coming off the HUGE success of the hugely awesome Straight Out of Compton movie, N.W.A.’s influence and importance has never been higher – so what a PERFECT time for them to be inducted into the RnR hall of fame (becoming the 5th hip-hop group to do so), right???  And the group members speeches?  Thighly memorable – but they didn’t peform – which is almost a complete waste of inducting them.  Apparently N.W.A. wanted to perform but the Hall wasn’t helpful in helping them do what they wanted to do, so they didn’t do anything, which is BS.  But hey, if all we have are those speeches, then speech on!

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then a little break for a Sheryl Crow and Grace Potter duet of The Eagles’ ‘New Kid in Town’, a tribute to the late Glenn Frey (who was at on this very stage 2 years ago)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2tSEdkxUQM

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Chicago

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductions that bring about unexpected reunions are the single greatest reason for the Hall to exist.  I mean, it brought The Talking Heads together, and the 3 other heads HATE David Byrne more than I hate microwaved Nazi tunafish at Duke University.  Well, if Peter Cetera and his former bandmates of Chicago were to EVER reunite – this would have been the time – but alas, they didn’t, and so, we heard Chicago as they are today – Chicago minus Peter Cetera.  They do have a faux Cetera, but it’s juss not the same.  Anywho, Chicago remain cheesy, but they’re fun, and groovy, and cheesy groovy fun

Saturday in the Park / Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is? / 25 or 6 to 4

25 fcuking or 6 or fcuking to 4!!!!!!!!!

https://www.instagram.com/p/BD9n5CrG31R/

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Cheap Trick

2 weeks ago, I was like – I don’t know who Cheap Trick really are or why are they being inducted (esp over Three Dog Night or Duran Duran or whoever you think).  Then I youtubed some of their hits and was like, oh yeah, I know those songs, but they’re so MEHHHHHHHHHHHH, and I was like, so why are these guys getting inducted??  And then when I was at the show, I was like, they must induct these guys first and get them out of the way.  But no – they were the last dudes to go.  Probably cause their music is high engery, but whateves.  They were inducted, and they sounded good (and it was cool that their former drummer played with them for maybe the last time ever), and now I can move on with my life and Cheap Trick can with theirs

I Want You to Want Me / Dream Police / Surrender

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and it all ended with a jam that was not one for the books, but hey, when else are Steve Miller Deep Purple Chicago Cheap Trick Paul Schaffer Sheryl Crow Kid Rock Rob Thomas and Little Stevie all going to play music together at the same exact time????  Nowhere else but for the Hall!!!!!!

https://www.instagram.com/p/BD9xnUuG30q/

Raul Malo
City Winery
January 29th

https://www.instagram.com/p/BBJl5B4m38l/

In my family, I’m the vulture of culture, and usually dictate which movies and concerts we go to.  My wife excels at other things – like being beautiful and being an amazing cook, and even being funnier than I.  So it came with great shock and awe shucks that she turned me onto an incredible singer/songwriter that I never had the pleasure of hearing of, and hearing in general.  Ears, meet Raul Malo – a Cuban-American whose influences are wide-ranged, and whose voice is so grand and marvelous that it sends chills down my ears, to my spine and into my heart, where it hugs and tugs, and warms it song after song

We caught Mr Malo at the intimate City Winery, where all he brought was an acoustic guitar and that singular soul-shaking voice.  My oh myyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!  It didn’t matter what he was singing, from his own solo catalog, to tunes from his band the Mavericks – it all ROCKED.  But where things really really REALLLY ROCKED were the covers her covered – doing justice and then some to the likes of Willie Nelson, Sinatra, Harry Nilsson, Roy Orbison and The Hollies.  I want to hear him cover every song ever!!!  EVER!!!!!!!  

Sign me up for mas Malo, por favor!

Woody Allen & the Eddy Davis New Orleans Jazz Band
Café Carlyle
December 14th

Sometimes you have to make your own New York dreams come true, and sometimes that means taking a Brinks truck to your bank, and unloading your savings account to see Woody Allen play the clarinet with his jazz buddies, at one of his Monday shows at the chez shwanky Café Carlyle.  You know this place was crazy chezy swanky cause there’s a ‘é’ in the venue’s name

And?????????????  It was worth EVERY penny (although the money you’re additional forced to spend on food would have been better used for 26 trips to Wendy’s, although the shrimp cocktail was off the heeeeezy) – to sit in a VERY intimate room (a napkin’s toss away from the Woodman, at any seat) and listen to the 80 year old geezer kick the jazzy ballistics

It’s a once in a lifetime experience you should experience if a) you love Woody and b) love the music often featured in his movies and c) want to sit in a room with Woody Allen 

May he live to be 80000000000000000!!!!!!!!!!!!

https://www.instagram.com/p/_TA_XIm35U/

I Want My ‘80s Concert
The Theater at Madison Square Garden
November 6th

May I interest you this?

too late – you already missed it!!

yep, you missed THE show of 2015, THE show of the 80s, and perhaps THE best show I’ve ever seen!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

no, it wasn’t life-changing, like seeing Simon & Garfunkel was, but it was LIFE-BEYOND-AMAZINGNINGINGING!!!!!!!

we’re a culture of greatest hits, and not deep cuts, and who wants to see a full Flock of Seagulls concert, when you can hear them play juss ‘I Ran’ + their 2nd best song, and then get off stage so you can hear the next 80s act play their 2 or 3 best known tunes

this happened, and I lived to tell about it, but more importantly, I lived to ROCK OUT TO IT!!!

MTV VJ Martha Quinn MCed the whole thing – and hearing her voice was like hearing the voice of MTV’s Jesus’ Mary!!!!

Then on came Tiffany.  Can you guess what song she played????  

YEP!!  WE WERE NO LONGER ALONE!!!!!!!!

https://instagram.com/p/9xS-OXG3yT/

and then instead of playing another one of her other hits, she was like, I’m gonna play an 80s fav of her own…

SWEET CHILD O’ MINE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

and then good ole raspy-voiced Tone Lōc comes out, and guess what he plays besides ‘Funky Cold Medina’?  

https://instagram.com/p/9xTK0vm3yn/

YEP!

and then THE GUY FROM FLOCK OF SEAGULLS PLAYED THAT 80s SONG WE ALL FLOCK TO!!!!

https://instagram.com/p/9xTc3fm3zA/

BOOOM – check hearing that live off of my music bucketlist!!!!!!!

and then Run-DMC came out and got tricky, and then was like, I don’t need Run or Jam Master Jay (RIP) or Aerosmith, cause I got Dee Snider in da house and we are going to

https://instagram.com/p/9xTre7G3zU/

WALK DIS WAY

TALK DIS WAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Man, this thing muss slow down at some point, right?

NOPE!

On comes still sweet Debbie Gibson who makes dreams a reality!!!

https://instagram.com/p/9xT1rHG3zm/

wait, is this show gonna ever stop being awesomesss???

NOPE!

on comes Howard Jones – the dude with a forgettable name, but unforgettable music. YOU KNOW THESE TUNES!!!!

https://instagram.com/p/9xUQENG30P/

woah oh ooooh oh oh oooh oh oh!!!!!!!!!!!

and no, I wasn’t a big Twisted Sister guy.  they freaked me out man.  even their cameo in Pee Wee’s Big Adventure wigged me out, but there’s no denying they rock – HARD – and everyone WILL take it – even if the only sister in attendance was Dee Snider!!!

https://instagram.com/p/9xUeLFm30p/

MAN, THAT WAS MAD RAD!!!

and hey, how bout we throw Lou Gramm of Foreigner on stage to put a big ole cherry on top of this delicious bomb-ass cake?????????

https://instagram.com/p/9xU4s0G31P/

He wants to know what love is?  IT’S THE PEOPLE HEARING HIS AMAZING MUSICS AND SINGING IT RIGHT BACK AT HIM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

dear lord was that some show.  How do you end something like that?  Well, you bring ALL of them folks back on stage (although Tone and DMC somehow skipped the end) and have them sing that Journey song everyone loves to sing together

https://instagram.com/p/9xVKrrm31o/

I MEAN WHERE ELSE YOU GONNA SEE DEE SNIDER SLIGHTLY STANDING IN THE WAY OF TIFFANY AND DEBBIE GIBSON ROCKING OUT MAD HARD YO??????????????

and who needs these people’s backing bands to back them up, when they rocked out with the greatest 80s cover band going…

Jessie’s Girl!!!!!!!!!!!!

not sure how the show did $$$$-wise, but awesome-wise – it was BEYOND THUNDERDOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I pray they do another one of these, cause I need to hear ‘Don’t You (Forget About Me’) by Simple Minds + 1 more of their songs, and then have them get off the stage so I can hear A-ha ‘Take On Me’ + 1 more song and then make way for Young MC to quickly ‘Bust A Move’

Nostalgia never dies – as long as we don’t let it die